The topic of “Moral Panic” applies to the movie. Moral panic describes a feeling of fear or an instance of public alarm or anxiety in response to particular problems that appear to threaten the moral standards of the society. According to the environment in America during the 1980s, there was an experience of moral panic associated with sexual abuse in daycare (Olinder, 2018). Also, the topic had become one of the main topics on TV in the entire country. There were allegations of sexual abuse occurring in daycare centers from different parts of the nation such as Minnesota, California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey among other states.
The allegations led to widespread panic and concern among parents. The panic led to hyper-vigilant parents, empty playgrounds, and the notion that there was a pedophile lurking behind trees planning to snatch children. Sexual abuse is a terrible crime, but the main suspects and perpetrators are often family friends and relatives (Casey, 2015). On the other hand, about one percent of sexual abuse takes place in daycares. The moral panic was accompanied by various undercurrents in the American society such as conservative backlash against feminism, fear of crime, homophobia, and a decline in traditional authority. Furthermore, the allegations of satanic rituals and human sacrifices only increased the moral panic.
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What Were 3 Examples You Believe The Investigators/Prosecutors Did Wrong Or Improperly In The Investigation & Trial?
In one case, a child replied “I don’t know” to one of the questions regarding the sexual games. Then the police officer asked the child to say that Friedman had taken off his pants. It was extremely significant to understand what occurred to the children but it was wrong to force words into a child's mouth.
Also, the children were often subjected to several interviews. Some children were interviewed daily for more than two months. Ultimately, some of the children “confessed” that they were molested so that the interviews could stop. In Scott County, an eleven-year boy was interrogated 74 times, and they questioned whether his parents were part of the orgies. Eventually, the child had a breakdown and admitted that his parents participated in the orgies because the investigators kept ‘forcing’ or ‘badging’ him to admit it (Olinder, 2018).
Furthermore, some investigators and prosecutors may have tainted the nature of the case because of the type of questions used in the investigations. Some of the children could be interviewed more than 15 times, and the interviews could last as long as seven hours (ABC News, 2013). In fact, the District Attorney's report regarding the investigations admitted that the police might have been unprofessional in investigating the case. The police even threatened the children that they would become homosexuals if they failed to admit that Friedman had molested them.
What Are Your Initial Impressions On The Victims Interviewed?
I believe that some of them are telling the truth. It is evident that some of the children were molested by Arnold Friedman because he not only pleaded guilty, he also admitted to his wife. I believe that they underwent a traumatic experience that was only worsened by the unethical questioning by the police, investigators, parents, and society.
On the other hand, some of the victims recanted the evidence and admitted that they were not molested. Some of the victims stated that none of the allegations had occurred and that they were never molested by Jesse Friedman. In an attempt to find the truth, I believe the moral panic in America may have influenced the behaviors of the prosecutors and investigators. The victims should have been properly questioned rather than forcing them to admit things (Wegman, 2015). The investigators should have been professional. It was a traumatic experience that the victims should not have experienced. However, I believe that the society should have done more investigations to find out the truth because there was no physical evidence.
Ultimately Do You Think Mr. Friedman & His Son Were Correctly Convicted? Wrongfully? Support Your Opinion.
I believe that Arnold Friedman was correctly convicted. Not only did he plead guilty, but he also admitted that he had molested boys in the past to his wife and brother. However, Jesse Friedman may have been wrongfully convicted. The Friedman’s case was occurring in a period of mass hysteria regarding child sexual abuse such as the McMartin case (Casey, 2015). The mass hysteria had been documented in hundreds of pages. More than five children who were in the computer classroom and are now adults swear that none of the allegations took place in the computer classroom and that even if they admitted that the abuse might have occurred, it was because the investigators had put words in their mouths.
The victims were asked very many questions and most of the children just wanted the questions to stop and they admitted that they were abused. Also, the District Attorney's report regarding the investigations admitted that the police might have been unprofessional in investigating the case. The police even threatened the children that they would become homosexuals if they failed to admit that Friedman had molested them. I believe that investigators may have destroyed the chance of revealing the truth because of the unethical questioning. However, the main question is why would Jesse Friedman witness the acts of his father yet fail to report the issue (ABC News, 2013). Experts on the issue argue that the investigations were fatally tainted because there was no medical or physical evidence supporting the case.
References
ABC News. (2013). Convicted Child Molester Fights to Clear Name. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drBAGINeR0g
Casey, M. (2015). How the Daycare Child Abuse Hysteria of the 1980s became a Witch hunt. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-modern-witch-hunt/2015/07/31/057effd8-2f1a-11e5-8353-1215475949f4_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a6df73e749c1
Olinder, D. (2018). McMartin Preschool Abuse Trial. Famous Trials. http://www.famous-trials.com/mcmartin
Wegman, J. (2015). After a Guilty Plea, Prison Term and a Movie, a Sex Abuse Case Returns. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/opinion/after-a-guilty-plea-a-prison-term-and-a-movie-a-sex-abuse-case-returns.html
